Ruins of the ancient Persian city of Pasargadae
Kingdoms, republics and empires

Ancient Civilisations

Discover the societies that built cities, crossed seas, codified laws, worshipped powerful gods and competed for control of the ancient world.

01Diorite statue of Pharaoh Khafre from ancient Egypt
Africa · c. 3100–30 BCE

Ancient Egypt

The Nile kingdom of pharaohs, pyramids, temple estates, scribes and an enduring faith in the afterlife.

Old KingdomNew Kingdom
02Classical Greek marble statue of the god Poseidon
Mediterranean · c. 800–146 BCE

Classical Greece

A world of competing city-states whose art, philosophy, drama and political experiments reshaped history.

AthensSparta
03Augustus of Prima Porta marble statue from ancient Rome
Mediterranean · 753 BCE–476 CE

Ancient Rome

From hilltop settlement to imperial capital, Rome forged a political and military system of remarkable reach.

RepublicEmpire
04Winged sphinx from the palace of Darius at Susa
Near East · 550–330 BCE

Achaemenid Empire

A vast multilingual empire connected by royal roads, provincial governors and an adaptable model of kingship.

PersepolisRoyal Road
05Ancient Mesopotamian city and monumental architecture
Near East · c. 3500–539 BCE

Mesopotamia

The land between the Tigris and Euphrates where cities, writing, law and powerful kingdoms first flourished.

SumerBabylon
06Mountain citadel of the ancient Andean world
Americas · c. 3000 BCE–1572 CE

Andean Civilisations

Across the Andes, complex societies built monumental cities, engineered mountain landscapes and governed far-reaching realms.

IncaMoche
07Mountain landscape of ancient East Asia
East Asia · c. 1600 BCE–220 CE

Ancient East Asia

Dynasties and kingdoms shaped enduring traditions of government, philosophy, scholarship and monumental art.

ShangHan
08Nordic longship sailing through northern fjords
Northern Europe · 750–1100 CE

Nordic Civilisation

A seafaring world of explorers, traders, poets and craftspeople whose influence reached across continents.

VikingsNorse
09Celtic settlement in a misty green valley at dawn
Europe · c. 1200 BCE–600 CE

Celtic Civilisation

Across ancient Europe, Celtic-speaking communities shared distinctive traditions of craft, belief, warfare and storytelling.

GaulBritannia
Every civilisation answered the same human questions differently: how to rule, how to worship, how to remember and how to survive.